Utah's Uninsurance Rate Plateaus While National Rate Drops

A new Gallup Poll indicates that states that have actively implemented the Affordable Care Act have seen a significant drop in the number of uninsured individuals.

Across the board, states that implemented both the Medicaid expansion and state/partnership exchange aspects of the ACA saw the largest reductions in uninsured rates. States that partially implemented the expansion measures generally saw reductions, but the effect was less drastic.

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Arkansas, one of the top five least-insured states last year, saw the most extreme change, decreasing from a 22.5 percent uninsured population to 12.4 percent.

Utah is one of five states that did not see a decrease in the number of uninsured individuals. Currently, Utah maintains a 15.6 percent uninsured population, the same percentage as last year’s poll.

Nationally, 17.3 percent of U.S. adults reported living without health insurance in 2013; however, this rate has since declined to 13.4 percent. Despite these noted improvements, a majority of Americans continue to disapprove of the Affordable Care Act.